In large mobile construction equipment, the vehicle is unsprung except for air filled tires and on uneven terrain a pitching motion produces an instability when moving between work stations or job sites. The pitching instability may be sufficiently violent that it causes the operator to reduce the ground speed of the vehicle thereby adversely affecting productivity.
Accordingly, among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a method and apparatus for stabilizing the vehicle so that the operator need not slow down the vehicle.
In accordance with the invention, the stabilizing system for a wheeled vehicle having a movable mass on the vehicle, an actuator mounted on the vehicle and connected to the mass for moving the mass, a sensor mounted on the vehicle for sensing movement of the vehicle about an axis to be stabilized, and a controller responsive to the sensor for controlling the actuator to cause movement of the movable mass in the same direction about the axis to be stabilized as the direction which the sensor is sensing movement of the vehicle and, in turn, the mass.